


A Breath in Time

by sg_wonderland



Category: Stargate SG-1, Torchwood
Genre: Episode: s04e18 The Light, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 11:10:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11206875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sg_wonderland/pseuds/sg_wonderland
Summary: A wormhole crosses a rift and two strangers are trapped together in a bizarre world





	A Breath in Time

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Addiction sex.

Dr. Daniel Jackson woke with a start, jerking awake violently, jolting up into an upright position. His vision was blurred; an investigating hand confirmed the lack of glasses. 

“Well,” a voice behind him drawled, “hello, darlin’.”

He jolted again, flinging himself around and away from the unknown voice, reaching for his Beretta with an unconscious air that would have both pleased and annoyed Jack O’Neill. Only there was no gun on his hip. Or holster either, for that matter. He fought the fog in his head to focus on the man, a stranger, kneeling in front of him.

“I took the liberty of removing your gun,” the stranger commented. “Didn’t want you to shoot either of us in a blind panic.” His voice softened. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Daniel backed away, got his feet under him, preparing to make a run if need be. “Excuse me if I don’t quite believe that since I don’t know who the hell you are.”

“Well, I know you’re just about the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Daniel just stared at the dark-haired man crouched beside him. “Who are you?”

“The name’s Captain Jack Harkness. And who might you be?”

Eyeing him cautiously, his body tensing, he replied. “I’m Daniel. Where’s the rest of my team?”

“There were more of you?”

“Where are they?” He persisted, glancing around the large, obviously Goa’uld-decorated gate room.

“You’re the only one I’ve seen so far. Truth is,” he rose and swept the air with his hands, “I’d only been here a few minutes when you came tumbling out of that thing. Landed right at my feet, actually. Not that that hasn’t happened before but the men who fling themselves at my feet aren’t usually as attractive as you.”

Daniel blinked in disbelief. He was accustomed to Jack, his Jack, making the most outrageous of statements at the most inopportune moments but if he wasn’t very much mistaken, this stranger, this Jack, had just made a pass at him. He would have laughed if the situation weren’t so dire. 

He was on some distant planet, clearly not the one where SG-1 was headed, with someone who he didn’t know, someone who had deliberately made him vulnerable by taking both his glasses and his weapon. First things first, he told himself. “May I please have my glasses back?” He asked politely.

“Oh, of course.” Jack handed them to him. “I was trying to wake you up and, well, I hope I didn’t scratch them or anything. Although I have to say, it’s a damned shame to hide those eyes.” The smile was unashamedly wolfish. “Are you sure you need them?” His tone was a bit hopeful.

“Yes, quite sure,” Daniel replied firmly.

*

A few hours later, Daniel had learned several things. Of the utmost importance was that the rest of his team was nowhere to be found. Nothing had come through from Earth but Daniel himself. Of secondary importance was the fact that the DHD wouldn’t dial. He desperately needed Sam to find out why he was stuck here with a stranger who dogged his every step and whose passes were becoming more and more blatant. Even more disturbing was the fact that Daniel was finding himself less inclined to deflect those advances.

The next order of business was to scope out their prison; however fancy it was, it was still a place from which neither one could leave. It was definitely Goa’uld, judging by the over the top décor and massive amounts of gold. The downstairs consisted, besides the gate room, of several large rooms that Daniel surmised were probably for parties since there were kitchens attached and several lavish bathrooms.

In one of the rooms, they’d found a strangely hypnotic light show; in another, evidence of a previous habitation, but it was obvious to Daniel the rags and meager personal possessions hadn’t been disturbed in several years. But Daniel slipped the curious metal frame in his pocket, just to see if he could figure it out.

Upstairs, Daniel wasn’t surprised to find bedrooms; no, they were really more like bedchambers because each one featured large beds, sitting areas, fire pits and attached bathrooms that could easily have housed a dozen or so people.

“I’ve been around a lot of places in my life and you know what this looks like?” Jack flung himself up on the bed and bounced happily.

“It’s a brothel, bordello, whatever you want to call it.” Daniel replied off-handedly.

“More like a pleasure palace.” Jack corrected, lying back on the bed. “Oh, man.”

“What?” Daniel ducked his head back in from checking out the bathroom.

“Mirrors over the bed. Definitely a pleasure palace. So,” he rolled over to eye Daniel. “You want to check it out?”

“No, I don’t want to check it out. We ought to keep looking.”

“There’s nobody here but us. I’m tired, I’m just gonna lie here for awhile.” He sprawled across the bed, peeping to see if Daniel was watching him slither across the bed. “Come here,” he beckoned.

“Why?” Daniel stayed in the doorway, not trusting himself to move any closer. Part of his mind realized this was wrong, out of character for him, but part of him wanted to cross that carpeted floor and take Jack up on his offer. 

“Daniel, we’re tired, we’ve been at this for hours. Let’s just lie down and get some sleep and try again in the morning.”

“I’ll just take the room next door.” Daniel’s voice wavered.

“No, we shouldn’t split up. It’s a big bed; you won’t even know I’m here. We should stay together. You know, just in case.” His voice was sensual and persuasive as he patted the bed beside him.

“This…something isn’t right.” Daniel protested even though he found himself following Jack’s command.

“I don’t care,” Jack took Daniel’s hands and eased him down on to the bed.

“We…we shouldn’t be doing this.” Daniel argued weakly as Jack leaned over and kissed him.

“Why not?” Jack murmured while raining kisses over his face.

“I...I don’t know.” All Daniel knew was that he normally wouldn’t have jumped into bed with someone he’d known a few hours.

“We’re two consenting adults. There’s no one here to tell us that we shouldn’t be doing this. Who are we hurting, really?”

Daniel had no answer for that, because he found himself fervently returning Jack’s kisses, thrusting his tongue into Jack’s mouth, helping Jack’s hands strip off jackets and shirts. “God,” he breathed as Jack’s mouth settled into the hollow of his throat, slid down his chest and sucked his nipples, lightly bit his ribs, tongued his navel.

“You are so beautiful, has anyone ever told you that?” Jack deftly unbuckled Daniel’s belt, unfastened his pants and slid the rest of the clothes from his body. Daniel lay there watching as Jack stood and quickly stripped, his eyes drawn to the other man’s erection, big and rapidly getting bigger, harder, fuller and strangely appealing.

“You’re…pretty attractive yourself.” Daniel gasped as Jack knelt on the floor, slid his hands up his thighs, parting them to wedge himself between them.

“Look up, beautiful Daniel.” Jack instructed him.

“Wha…?” Daniel automatically complied and realized Jack hadn’t been lying; the entire ceiling was covered with mirrors. He could see himself, sprawled wantonly across the bed, a stranger’s dark head near his groin. Fascinated, he couldn’t turn away as Jack lowered his face. “Oh!” He writhed as Jack’s tongue slid up and down his length. Daniel cried out as Jack took his entire cock in his mouth and began sucking with long, slow pulls. 

Jack found Daniel’s reactions tantalizing and he sucked harder, realizing that Daniel was unused to oral sex. A virgin, he thought with a wave of arrogant satisfaction; he couldn’t believe anyone could look like this and still be untouched. Somewhere, blankly, he wondered what else might be new to Daniel. 

Daniel was mesmerized at the sight of Jack’s mouth working him with what even he could recognize as supreme expertise. He saw the sure hand grip the base of his cock and begin pumping him enthusiastically. 

He could feel the helpless thrash of those slim hips, could hear Daniel talking, buzzing noises in his head, begging Jack both to slow down and keep going. Knowing that Daniel was too close to stop now, he shifted, taking Daniel’s cock further down his throat, waiting for the anguished cry before his throat was flooded and he swallowed without hesitation.

*

Jack waited for Daniel to fall asleep before he rose and, without shame, went through the other man’s uniform. The vest pockets were full of things Jack recognized as military issue. He found the patches that had mysteriously disappeared from Daniel’s jacket earlier in the day; he didn’t recognize either symbol but he committed them to memory before putting them back. 

An odd piece of technology with number keys, a digital readout and a Velcro strap he perused curiously, also committing it to memory. There were antihistamines that spoke of allergies, notebooks and pens and an extra pair of glasses that labeled him as some type of a scholar, power bars and snacks that told Jack he was a meal-skipper. The box he’d taken from downstairs told him that Daniel was avidly curious. 

His body wasn’t strictly that of a scholar, though. Jack surveyed his sleeping form with a detached eye. Or he tried to. Daniel was broad of shoulder, slim of hip, with long, powerful legs that told Jack he regularly worked out and was a runner. 

The pale skin and slight tan lines told him Daniel was modest and probably lived somewhere in the North; his accent identified him as American.

Jack climbed back up on the bed and curled up next to him. Time enough to learn more about him tomorrow.

*

“What makes you think there’s something else here?” Daniel watched as Jack tapped the walls of the spacious suite he’d claimed as their own.

“Because I’ve been around a long time and anyplace like this has a…ah, here it is.” Jack found a lever under a large, garish mirror and pulled it. Part of the wall slid open. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.”

Daniel reluctantly followed Jack through the open doorway. “What is this?”

“This, my young innocent, is the toy room.” Daniel blinked as Jack held up a frighteningly large dildo.

“You’ve got to be kidding?” Daniel eyed the monstrosity. “There’s no way anyone is putting anything that large anywhere near me, much less in me.”

Jack pointed it at him. “Would you care for a demonstration?” 

Daniel shuddered and shook his head vehemently. Jack chuckled and snagged a handy basket. “What are you doing now?”

“Well, sugar, I’m getting us some toys. Wouldn’t you like to see how some of this stuff works?”

 

*

With genuine regret, Jack eyed the room. He’d already deduced that Daniel was a stranger to anything but regular married-kind-of-sex. Because of that, he left behind the whips and cuffs and pain-inducing devices, some of which even he’d never seen before. Instead, he picked out several kinds of lubricants and stimulants, what he assumed were condoms and a few of his favorites. He scooted the basket under his bed, then went to hunt for Daniel.

*

“Okay, we’ve got enough food and water to last for several weeks.” Daniel was scribbling on a notebook he’d removed from his pack.

“Doesn’t that make you kind of suspicious?” Jack looked around the room off one of the kitchens, clearly a pantry of some sort. “Who left all this food behind and why?”

“We know there’s a way in but there has to be a way out, that only makes sense.” Daniel mused aloud. “I’m sure there’s an answer here somewhere. I’ll start by translating those walls in the light room.”

“If anyone can figure it out, it’ll be you.”

“You’ve got a lot of faith in someone you don’t even know.”

“I know enough to know you’ve just about driving yourself crazy trying to figure this out.” Jack knelt to cup Daniel’s cheek in his hand. “And you won’t quit until you do.” He rose easily, extending his hand. “You’ve been at this for two days; you need to take a break. Tomorrow is soon enough. Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Daniel automatically let Jack pull him to his feet, pausing in the act of shrugging his jacket back on to ask suspiciously, “Does it have anything to do with that room you found?”

Jack grinned broadly. “What do you think?”

Jack kept Daniel’s hand in his, led up the wide stairs, through the suite and into the bathroom, even though Daniel protested he could bathe in his own rooms. “I found some really nice bath stuff this morning, really relax you. Come on, you’ve been working that brain of yours all day long. You need some downtime.” Jack slipped his jacket off and draped it over one of the low-slung couches. 

“These tubs are out of this world. I’d love to have one at home.” The sunken tubs were huge, big enough for the both of them and a few more. Jack set the taps and water gushed from the sides and quickly filled the tub, throwing a handful of bath salts in, the warm aroma of vanilla wafting through the room. “Come on, strip off and get in.” Jack ordered Daniel as he walked across the spacious room to open the windows to let in the scents of the garden below. He managed to keep his back turned even though he heard the sounds of clothes and boots hitting the floor.

“Oh,” Daniel moaned softly. “That feels fantastic.”

“Told ya,” Jack started to shuck his own clothes and climbed in so that he was facing Daniel, who gave him an inquisitive look. “Hey, water conservation and all that.”

“Really?” Daniel was clearly disbelieving.

Jack tossed him a loofah-like sponge. “Soap’s behind you.” Jack lathered up nonchalantly, as if he was used to bathing with near strangers.

Without words, they both splashed in the water leisurely, Jack flipping the switch to turn on the shower feature, smiling when Daniel sputtered as the water fell soft on his face, laughing as he turned his head. 

Suddenly, Jack surged forward, causing the water to wave around them. Daniel’s surprised exclamation was swallowed by Jack’s seeking mouth, kissing Daniel deeply, long and hard, with unmistakable intent. Daniel’s reaction was immediate, answering him kiss for kiss, tongue thrust for tongue thrust. “God.” Jack groaned as he ate Daniel alive, his mouth roving over his face, his brow, his eyes, his jaw, to return over and over to that gorgeous mouth. 

He murmured Daniel’s name as he slid between the thighs that parted easily beneath him, gasping as their cocks moved against each other. He thrust against Daniel hard and fast, feeling the answering movements beneath him. He heard rather than felt Daniel peak and the sound of his cries pushed him over the edge and he came in long waves.

*

“We need another bath,” Daniel remarked sleepily.

Jack muttered into the shoulder beneath him. “Shower’s still running.”

“Hmm, thought it was raining.”

Jack finally stirred enough to stand up, drag Daniel up with him, rinse the both of them in the shower before nudging Daniel to step out of the tub. “Hit the bed, I’ll be there in a minute.” He caught Daniel’s arm before he stepped away. “My bed. And don’t bother with clothes.” Only Daniel could stand there, stark naked, dripping, post-orgasmic and still manage to look pissed.

“You ever wear your glasses during sex?” Jack asked. Daniel’s hands fumbled for glasses that weren’t there. “On the sink.” He watched as Daniel strode out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but water droplets and glasses. “The hell with this,” Jack flipped the water off and the drain open and left the mess behind him as he hurried from the room.

Daniel was opening the doors onto the balcony when Jack nipped up behind him, his arms sliding around his waist. 

Part of Jack’s brain was telling him this was wrong, that he was ruthlessly seducing a virgin. The overwhelming majority of his thinking, unfortunately, was being done by his dick and it didn’t care about anything but getting Daniel into that bed and getting itself into Daniel as soon as possible. 

Nothing else mattered.

So he kissed his way across those broad shoulders, let his tongue slither down the straight spine before dropping to his knees to worship the most perfect ass he’d ever seen. Daniel was braced against the door frame, his body tense and quivering, his legs spread to give Jack what he wanted. 

Jack used his tongue on him, in him, until they were both mindless, Daniel barely able to stand by the time Jack reluctantly pulled his tongue out, rising to his feet to lead an unresisting Daniel to the bed. Watched while Daniel lay down and spread himself out. Jack kissed him reverently before rolling him onto his stomach, lifting his hips up with pillows before he spread his legs even farther apart and took a moment to devour Daniel with his eyes. 

He reached under the bed and grabbed lube and condoms from the basket before sliding it back. There were things he could have used on Daniel, in Daniel, but with the arrogance of a star pirate, he wanted to be the first man to plant his flag, literally and figuratively, where no man had gone before.

So he slicked his finger up and pushed slowly into Daniel’s ass, stopping when he heard Daniel’s gasp, waiting for his whispered, “Okay,” before he continued. With agonizing slowness, he finally got all the way in, just letting his finger rest there before pulling out and inserting two fingers, unerringly finding the prostate and feeling Daniel jump beneath him.

“Like that, do you?” He crooned as he stroked with quick, determined fingers.

“Oh, God!” Daniel was thrashing beneath him.

“It was never like this before, was it? No one ever made you feel like this, did they?” Not your wife, Jack added silently, or whoever you’ve been saving yourself for. 

“No, no.” Daniel gasped out.

“Is that a no, you want me to stop or a no, I’ll kill you if you stop now?” Jack let his fingers slip back out.

“Don’t stop now,” Daniel begged.

“You do know what’s coming next, don’t you?” Jack snaked on the condom and lubed himself liberally.

“I’ve been feeling that ‘what’ on my ass for the last hour,” Daniel choked out. “Jack, please…”

Jack leaned forward to plant a kiss on the small of his back before he positioned himself, slowly, relentlessly pushing the thick head of his cock into Daniel, waiting for the pop as he finally penetrated, holding the squirming hips in his hands as he continued to push. Daniel cried out as Jack’s penis burrowed deeper and deeper inside until he was seated all the way in, his balls brushing Daniel’s ass. 

Daniel’s hands were clutched around the thick metal spindles of the bed and Jack leaned forward to cover them, pushing himself even deeper into Daniel. He kissed the back of Daniel’s head before he pulled Daniel to his knees and began to thrust, hard and fast. He rode Daniel’s body, plunging over and over into him, heedless of anything but deriving the most pleasure he could for both of them. Daniel was crying out almost constantly, matching his thrusts with Jack’s, taking Jack with him as he flew into the sun and exploded.

 

*

 

“I know what’s wrong with us.” Daniel announced one night.

“From where I sit, there’s not a damn thing wrong with either one of us.”

Daniel smiled as he ruffled Jack’s dark hair, bent so intently over Daniel’s groin. “Well, there’s certainly nothing wrong with your blowjobs, I must admit. Ouch!” Daniel jerked as Jack tightened the metal cock ring.

“Too tight?” Jack drew back, anxious that he might have hurt Daniel. He couldn’t deny that he was incredibly turned on by the fact that Daniel had agreed to this, that he’d let him take the ring from a bowl of ice water and fastened it around his cock. Daniel had jumped and groaned and hardened as Jack quickly twisted the screws. “Do I need to loosen it?”

“No, just feels odd.” Daniel wriggled as the metal cooled, adjusted to the heat of his flesh. “Anyway, back to the original subject, I finished translating the walls in that room with the strange light.” He’d figured out there had to be something in that room, the way it drew his attention over and over. Jack grunted and Daniel took that as permission to go on. 

“You were right about this place being a…oh, yeah, tighter, Jack…a pleasure palace. The Goa’uld would bring their human slaves here and have an orgy, I suppose is the best word. There’s something here that causes an instant addiction.” Daniel looked at Jack. “Only something happened and we got addicted to…”

“Sex?” Jack let the head of Daniel’s cock slip out of his mouth and sat back with a sigh. If there was one thing he’d learned in the past week, it was that it was just best to let Daniel talk it out before they got down to the good stuff.

“Um, I was thinking more like addicted to each other.” Daniel pulled back on the bed crossed his legs and stared at Jack. “None of this is real, Jack. What we’re feeling, what we think we are to each other. It’s all...just someone messing with our heads.”

Jack climbed up on the high bed beside him, kissing him thoroughly, sliding his hand between those parted thighs, giving his balls a squeeze. “That feels real to me. I love you, Daniel. That’s real and nothing you can say is going to change that.”

“You don’t even know who I am.”

“I know who Daniel is. I know you’re so smart your brain is simply going to explode one day. You have a huge amount of patience or you wouldn’t put up with me. And you’d do anything to not hurt my feelings. I know that you’re still trying to protect your friends, that’s why you won’t talk about what you really do, where you’re from. You’re a good man who cares about people. That’s the Daniel I know.” Daniel still looked skeptical so Jack reached over and took Daniel’s hand, placing it over his own heart. “What do you feel?”

Daniel automatically fingered the nipple ring. “I feel your heart beating, kind of fast, actually.”

“It’s beating fast because you’re sitting here, looking all smart and sexy, wearing nothing but a smile and a cock ring and I just want to lay you down and fuck you until your superior brain puddles out your ears. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

*

“So that’s why your little mushroom isn’t working?” Jack glanced over as he and Daniel walked through the garden. After working out the addiction thing, he’d discovered that they could gear down the light machine gradually and they were testing that by walking outside a little further every day.

“Yeah, I think it’s a safety protocol. There’s some kind of a sensor in the DHD that reads your body chemistry and won’t connect unless you’re over the addiction.” He idly picked a flower as he passed. “It’s quite clever, really. The Goa’uld could have all their fun and not worry about their slaves escaping.”

“Do you believe in fate?” Jack suddenly planted himself in front of Daniel.

“I suppose so.” Daniel blinked at the abrupt change of subject.

“Then do you believe that it was fate that put us here together? Of all the members of your team, you are the only one who could have figured this out?”

Daniel nodded. “That’s a fair assumption. Sam could have figured out the DHD, probably. But, yes, I’m the only one who could do the translation.”

“Some force in the universe threw us here together. So you could figure out how to save us and I could get to have some really great sex. I’m calling this a win.” He grinned wickedly.

“Yeah, but…”

“It’s just you and me here, Daniel,” he interrupted fiercely. “We’re just two little specks in this world, hell, less than specks! No one cares about what we do here. We’re…we’re just a breath in time. Here one second and simply gone the next.”

Daniel slid his arms around the other man. “I know, Jack, I know.”

*

Every night, Jack would fall asleep after they made love, only to wake and find Daniel had deserted him. The first night it happened, Jack was seriously alarmed as he hunted for the other man before he found him curled up on the bed in the room next door.

“Why won’t you sleep with me?” Jack had whispered, gently pushing the soft hair from his forehead, kissing his temple.

In many ways, Daniel reminded him of Tosh, without the stifling lack of self-confidence. He kept so much of himself hidden. True, he had given his body willingly but Jack realized he still didn’t trust Jack, which might have been why he left Jack’s bed every night.

But he was a man starved for affection; he simply bloomed when Jack touched him, a casual hand on his shoulder, a daytime kiss, a thorough fucking in the dark of night. 

But Jack was greedy. He wanted more, he wanted it all.

He wanted Daniel.

 

*

A week later, Jack called Daniel to lunch and realized he couldn’t find him. A quick, frantic search, shouting his name turned up nothing. Jack was breathlessly relieved when he finally found Daniel in his bedroom. However, his relief was short-lived when he realized Daniel was huddled on the floor in front of the fire, wrapped in a quilt, crying. Daniel was crying. 

He flung himself on the floor beside him. “What’s wrong? Daniel?” He suddenly realized Daniel was soaking wet, shaking with the cold. If Jack hadn’t known better, he’d have sworn Daniel had been out in the icy rain. 

“Come on,” he hauled Daniel to his feet and chivvied him into the bathroom. He sat him on the cushioned stool while he ran a hot bath, then peeled the clothes off a scarily meek Daniel and eased him down into the water. Daniel didn’t make a sound, not a whimper at the heat of the water. 

Jack was begin to quietly panic, although he fought showing it, speaking gently to Daniel, taking the shower attachment and shampooing Daniel’s hair, just hovering until the other man finally stopped shivering with every breath. He hauled him up, rubbed him briskly with the thick, soft towels before wrapping him in a fine linen shirt and a robe and leading back out, not stopping at the sitting area by the fire but leading him directly to the bed.

“Here, climb in. And you can tell me what happened.” 

Daniel finally seemed to snap out of his trance. “Jack?”

“Right here, love. What happened?” He lay beside him, hip to hip, smiling just a bit when Daniel shifted so he could rest on his shoulder.

“I...I went down to the ocean…just to see…and…I found…Jack, there were two graves there. Mounds of stone with crude markers but they were graves.”

Jack’s mind automatically clicked into defense mode. Graves meant someone was dead…and that someone had been alive long enough to dig those graves. “Any idea how long they’d been dead?”

Daniel drew a stuttering breath. “A long time, several years, at the very least.”

Jack asked cautiously, “And you know this how?”

“Because…there…on the graves, I found a…a skeleton. It was…it was…little.” Daniel struggled. “Oh, God, Jack, it was a child! The skeleton was a child!”

No wonder Daniel’d been in shock. “It’s okay, love, it’s okay.”

“No, Jack, it’s not okay! Look,” Daniel slipped off the bed and back into the bathroom, returning with that silver box that seemed so damned fascinating. “I know what it is.” He flipped it open and handed it to Jack, who saw what looked like a photograph of a family. A mother, a father, a small, happy boy. “That was probably his parents and he buried them and then he…just…lay there and died with them.”

Jack rocked him as he started crying again. There wasn’t anything he could say so he didn’t talk. He just held on.

*

At first light, they walked hand in hand to the beach and dug a small grave between two crude piles of rock.

*

That last night – for Jack knew it without the words – Daniel loved him fiercely, desperately, trying to say goodbye the best way he knew how.

Jack knew it was over when he woke with Daniel still in his arms, still in his bed.

*

“If there’s one thing I’m pissed about, besides the never seeing you again thing, it’s that someone else is going to be on the receiving end of those most excellent blowjobs at which you’ve become so adept.” Jack grinned at him lasciviously. Teaching Daniel how to give head had been a delicious dilemma but Jack hadn’t regretted it. What his student had lacked in experience, he more than made up for with sheer enthusiasm.

“Hey, I did give you one for the road, didn’t I?”

“For which, I am eternally grateful.” He frowned. “Are you certain, absolutely certain, you can make it home okay?”

“I’ll have to hop around a bit; they won’t let me come straight home after all this time. I’ve been missing three weeks; they have no idea if I’m even still alive. They’ll be frantic by now, just not knowing but they’ll still have to follow protocol. What about you?” Daniel stepped forward, into Jack’s arms, to rest his chin on the other man’s shoulder.

“I told you, no worries. After you ride your wormhole out of here, the rift will open up. I’ll be home before you are.” Jack’s hands settled at the small of Daniel’s back. “Don’t forget me?”

Daniel drew back to kiss him lingeringly. “Never.”

Jack cupped that face in his hands, kissed him quickly. “Go before I change my mind and take you home with me instead.” He watched as Daniel dialed, as the blank circle of stone puddled into an intense blue, as Daniel turned back with one last smile before he stepped through and disappeared.

Jack waited a half an hour just to make sure before he pulled out his communicator and hailed Tosh. “Open the door, I’m coming home.”

*  
Sam stopped at the door of his office, just absorbing the fact that he was really there. Against all odds, they had Daniel back. Her heart still gave a skip when she remembered the call to the control room, rushing in behind the Colonel and Teal’c, to find that Colonel Franklin had dialed in from Alpha to report Daniel was there, had been brought through the gate only minutes before. 

They’d followed procedures and had whisked him to medical isolation before calling Earth. SG-1 had received hasty permission to gate out and they’d all tumbled through the gate and through the corridors of the Alpha site to look down into an observation room, to find Daniel smiling up at them.

She knew, perhaps better that anyone else, how easily they could have lost him. How he could have rematerialized on another planet injured or, God forbid, not rematerialized anywhere. He could have just become space dust and they might never have known what had happened to him.

But there was something different about him, an edge of sadness in his eyes that he tried valiantly to hide but she occasionally caught when he thought no one had noticed. She walked into the room and just hugged him, hard.

“Sam?”

“Just don’t leave us again, okay?” She finally made herself stand back. “Please?”

“I’ll try, Sam.” He knew it wasn’t much, but it was all he could give.

*

“So,” Tosh followed him into his office. “Secret three week mission.”

“You know, I go where the action is.” Jack pretended to be engrossed in some papers on his desk.

“And you’re still not going to tell us what you’ve been up to.”

Jack tapped his nose. “That’s why it’s called a secret. Good night, Tosh,” he said forcefully. He waited until she was gone, until he had the office to himself before pouring a large whiskey, returning to the desk. 

From his pocket he pulled a silver cock ring and an eyeglass case. He looked at the glasses for a long time before he carefully took out an ID kit and lifted some prints from the lenses. He could do it, it would be easy to run the prints, to find out who Daniel really was, where he was.

Finally, he rose, fetched a box in which he placed the items and carefully locked them away with all the evidence from all the other cases.


End file.
